


That's the Rule

by IohannaFacTotum



Category: Free!
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eggnog, First Kiss, M/M, Mistletoe, Spooning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 09:18:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IohannaFacTotum/pseuds/IohannaFacTotum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rin goes out to pick up some take out for his roommate, he comes back to a very festive surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That's the Rule

_It’s already cold…_

Rin sighed. He wasn’t sure why Nitori had insisted on cheap takeout from the joint across town, nor was he sure why Nitori had insisted that he could not come with him to eat while it was hot.

With one mittened hand buried in a coat pocket and the other carrying a plastic bag decorated with snowflakes – as if the ones falling around him weren’t enough – he made his way back to Samezuka Academy. Heat had stopped emanating from the opening in the top of the bag, and Rin couldn’t help but think of it as a waste of time and money, but Nitori had been insistent, and he had paid for it, so all-in-all, Rin couldn’t honestly say he minded too much. His roommate was an odd one, he would admit any day.

He swiped his access card to the dormitory a bit too quickly and had to swipe it once, twice more before the tell-tale beep sounded and he yanked the door open, cold and annoyed. He slipped his mittens off and untied his scarf, draping it lazily over his shoulders as he made his way up to their room. He stopped outside the door and reached into one the two plastic bags. He dug past the plasticware, past napkins and packets of soy sauce, and popped open one of the Styrofoam boxes and held a bare hand close to the food inside.

He heaved a sigh of relief. It hadn’t gone completely cold, not yet. He wasn’t sure how well he could take cold takeout in such weather, even with the heat blasting through the dorm vents.

Rin jiggled the handle of the door and found it locked. He slipped a hand in his pants pocket and rummaged through lint, change, and receipts for his key, but came up empty.

Had he removed it?

With much grumbling and confusion, he knocked on the door. There was a thud from inside, a surprised gasp, and then he heard that sweet, unassuming voice call, “Coming!” More rustling, some more thuds and a little bit of banging, and finally the lock turned and the door cracked open and Nitori peeked out.

“Ah! You’re back sooner than I thought… It doesn’t take you as long as it takes me to walk there, does it?” he asked. He seemed nervous… Was that a blush?

“Yeah, yeah, my legs are longer than yours. Open up. It’s going to get cold,” Rin mumbled.

“Oh, uh… one more second!” Before Rin could protest, the door slammed in his face. He could hear Nitori scrambling to do _something_ on the other side.

Rin banged on the door insistently. “C’mon, Aii, what’s the idea?!” he barked. He knocked again and huffed. “I’m coming in,” he said before turning the handle and barging in.

Before he could quite get his bearings, Nitori flipped a switch on a radio sitting atop his desk, which started playing Christmas music quietly.

Rin looked around in awe. Blinking white lights and thick green garland lined their walls and windows, wrapped around their bedposts and furniture where it could. Paper and felt snowflakes stuck to the wall in random places, some of them sparkling with glitter. A wreath with two small silver bells hung above the window, and another on the door. Origami stars and more snowflakes were strung to the ceiling with fishing line and dangled at varying lengths. Two stockings hung tacked under the windowsill, sloppily embroidered with snowmen and gingerbread men and snowflakes, one with an “R” and one with an “A.” A bright emerald tree, roughly four feet tall, sat in the corner near the desk, covered in shining ball ornaments and miniature wisemen and candy canes of all colors, with a bright golden star placed neatly on top and popcorn strings draped gratuitously around it. There were already a few wrapped presents sitting beneath it.

And for once, that blasted desk was neat and orderly, with the top entirely cleared off aside from the radio.

And Nitori stood in the center of it all, a Santa hat perched on his head and a blush on his cheeks and a smile splitting his face from ear to ear. He was wearing potentially the ugliest sweater Rin had ever seen in his life, covered in knitted reindeer. Rin loved it.

“What do you think?” he chirped.

Rin stared, his mouth ajar, unable to process the complete change his room had taken in a mere hour. “Aii… how did you….?”

That was when he spotted it. A little sliver of green flora dangling from the ceiling right above Nitori’s head, embellished with sparkling white berries.

Nitori followed his eyes and his blush intensified, brightening his whole face. He shifted his eyes to the floor and shuffled his feet nervously. “I-It was just kind of a last minute thing, really. Just decoration, you know? It was in the box and I thought maybe –“

His words caught in his throat when Rin’s lips crashed into his ferociously. He squeaked in surprise, but when Rin didn’t pull away immediately, Nitori wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s neck and tilted his head, returning the kiss wholeheartedly.

When they finally parted, Rin shot Nitori a sly look. “That’s the rule, right? A kiss for whoever is under the mistletoe.” He laughed then, loudly and deeply. “You did good, Aii. Real good.” He patted Nitori, who was still blushing and shocked, on the shoulder and set the plastic bags on the counter. He pulled their plates out of one and out of the other appeared a large carton of eggnog and a package of plastic cups for later.

Nitori’s face lit up and Rin couldn’t help but think that the boy belonged on the wall with the rest of the lights. He draped his coat and scarf on the bedpost and handed Nitori his plate and took his own. They both plopped down on Rin’s mattress and dug in to the lukewarm takeout.

“So, if that’s the rule…” Nitori mused with a mouth full of noodles, “does that mean I can go stand under it again?” He smiled a deceptively innocent smile at Rin, who chuckled.

“Yeah, whatever. Just not with that food in your mouth.”

Nitori blushed and swallowed quickly. “Right…”

They ate in a pleasant silence for a while longer and stored their leftovers in a mini fridge in the corner. Rin opened the eggnog and poured them each a small glass full in the plastic cups. “Cheers,” he said with a half-smile, as he sat back on the bed and crossed his legs. He handed one to his roommate and took a sip from his own cup.

Nitori grinned and nodded. “Cheers!” came the hearty reply before he sipped at the eggnog. He stood suddenly and plucked a present from under the tree and plopped it in Rin’s lap.

“What’s this?”

“An early present! Go ahead, I want you to have it before Christmas.”

Rin looked at Nitori skeptically, then back at the box, wrapped in red with a pretty gold bow on top. After more encouraging from Nitori, he plucked gingerly at the paper and unearthed a small cardboard box. He popped the tape keeping it sealed and pulled out a relatively large stuffed shark with a Santa hat safety pinned to its head.

Before he could question it, Nitori spoke up. ”I-It reminded me of you! And look at this!” He reached in the box and pulled out a much smaller stuffed fish, this one black and white striped. He held it above the shark and, presumably by a magnet, it stuck to the shark’s back, near the fin. “Isn’t it cute? I know it’s silly and childish, but I couldn’t help myself… A-And I noticed that you cling to your pillow when you sleep, so I thought maybe you could hold onto this instead so that you could still sleep on your pillow comfortably…”

Rin smiled and turned the connected animals over in his hand as he sipped at his eggnog. “No, Aii. They’re perfect. Thank you.” He placed them on his bed by his pillow and threw an arm around Nitori and pulled him into a tight hug. The smaller boy hummed contentedly and packed the paper into the box and tossed it in the general direction of the trashcan.

They might have stayed like that much longer, with Nitori resting himself against Rin’s side, and Rin holding him close, with both of them sipping glass after glass of eggnog had it not been for that damned radio. As “White Christmas” came to an end, an announcer’s voice replaced the melodic tunes.

“Aaaaalright, folks! And with that, we’re officially three minutes into Christmas Eve!”

Rin glanced at his watch and sighed. It was indeed three minutes past midnight. He stood and tossed their empty cups in the trash, turned the radio down a notch and slipped into flannel pajamas before climbing back into his bed. Nitori followed suite, although he stopped before climbing the ladder to his bunk.

He reached under the bed and pulled out a small box filled with more small decorations. He dug out another stem of mistletoe, then slid under Rin’s own blankets with him, scooting as close as he could. He reached up and taped the mistletoe on the underside of his own bunk so that it hung down just under Rin’s pillow just above their heads, then turned and looked at Rin expectantly.

Rin shook his head, but smiled all the same before leaning in closer and planting a much gentler kiss on Nitori’s soft lips.

Nitori was much more prepared this time, reaching up to run his fingers through Rin’s hair and kissing him back eagerly. However, he was _not_ prepared for the arm that slipped around his waist and pulled him closer, flush against Rin’s warm body. He smiled and peppered Rin’s face with little kisses and finally met his lips for another long one before nuzzling into Rin’s chest with a yawn.

“No, no,” Rin grumbled, propping himself on an elbow.

Nitori looked up at him, stricken with fear. Was something wrong? Surely Rin had not changed his mind…

“Turn around.”

“What?”

“I said _turn around_ , Aii.”

Nitori didn’t dare question the sudden authority in Rin’s voice, and he was more than relieved that he had been asked to turn around rather than get back in his own bed. He turned his back to Rin obediently and gasped when he felt that strong, toned arm wrap around him again and tug him close.

Once again pressed against a firm chest, and with Rin’s mouth and nose resting in his hair, Nitori closed his eyes, content to be surrounded by Rin’s warmth. As the taller boy’s breathing slowed and deepened, Nitori nodded off listening to it and lacing his fingers in Rin’s and thinking that he really couldn’t ask for anything better for Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments are greatly appreciated and encouraged!


End file.
